MARTHA Mahlaba (62), from extension 3 in Nellmapius, Tshwane said she wanted to bury her brother with dignity but was told she was too proud!
Since 2014, she has been paying the undertakers every month so her family can be buried in a dignified manner.
They collected her brother’s body after he died last Saturday, but when she went to choose a casket, the trouble started. “They told me they bury the dead in budget coffins.”
She said she took out a policy for a proper casket. “The workers phoned their manager, who told me I must think I was better than all their other clients.
“I was in sorrow but the manager told me I was full of myself and used English words.”
She claimed she called the manager to demand her money back, as well as her brother’s body. “She apologised but said I would have to pay R8 000 if I wanted a casket. I refused.”
She claimed then she was kicked out. “They told me the manager said I should never set foot in their offices until I spoke humbly in pure Sotho. I don’t know if burying my brother in a dignified manner is being proud, but I will sue the undertaker,” she said.
Martha said her brother’s son then took over and negotiated with the undertaker.
Daily Sun called Molmat Undertakers, who said they offered Martha a casket but she wanted a pricey one. “We told her to add in money and she refused. We’d never kick her out, as our client. We only told her to come back the next day as we were closing.”
